I had the privilege of flying in a B-25 in Jan-Feb 1957 from Mountain Home AFB, ID, to Reno, NV. I was hopping from DC to CA. We tried to get to Travis AFB, CA, but the plane had no supercharged engines and no radar, and we couldn’t get over the mountains. So we diverted to Reno. I lucked out and caught a NV Air Natl Guard C-45 from Reno to Travis. What a day!!!
Thanks man! Great video. My father flew in the nose gunner's seat of a B25 doing submarine patrols on the East Coast for a few months during WWII. He was a Marine flying out of North Carolina until he was deployed to invade Okinawa with the First Marine Division. The only thing he ever spoke of fondly was his time in the Mitchell's nose.
Beautiful view up in the nose, but I'm sure it got very tense also. Thank him for his service for me if he's still around, my Father in law is 92 and served in the Battle of the Bulge and is still around. Thanks so much for watching and sharing his story.
This is the honest truth. I used to work at a publishing company called Challenge Publications. The owner at the time also was the owner of this very aircraft. His name was Ed Schneph. Mind you this was the very late 70's / early 80's. They were actually working on one of the engines in our warehouse where pallets and pallets of magazines were also stored. Some of the titles we published were like "Air Classics', "Warbirds", and various titles along those lines. We also published many titles that dealt with modeling such as scale r/c models, beautiful dioramas and such. I don't remember many of them as like I said this was a while back. Anyways, Ed was quite a character and I'm almost sure he has passed on by now. If I remember correctly, one of the mechanics name was Nelson Knudler or something like that. I also remember a guy named Michael O'Leary who was also involved with the aircraft at the time. If I remember correctly, Ed also owned at least one other plane, I think it was an A-26 Invader. ( probably have the name incorrectly.) Every time I see a picture of this plane it brings back a lot of memories from those times. I never did get a chance to have a ride in that plane.
Magnificent! One of my uncles was navigator on a B-25 in the South Pacific with the "Rough Raiders." He flew all his missions with some harrowing moments, then volunteered for one more---and was killed with all the crew/ground crew when a bomb that was stuck in the bomb bay unnoticed fell out on landing and exploded. His and their story at "Family Veterans of WWII" at Ancientlights dog o-r-g.
+37Dionysos Wow, I'm very sorry about your Uncle what a tragedy. I'm speechless after hearing about that. Your Uncle was a very brave Man for doing what he did and then stepping forward for another mission, you should be very proud of him and I'm sure you are. Thank you for watching and sharing your story. Take care.
Thank you, and best respects back at you for your honor of this great, great ship. I'm not "selling" anything but you might enjoy the details of my uncle's South Pacific service and missions at the aforesaid "Family Veterans" page at Ancient Lights dot o-r-g. My Dad's B-24 crew also detailed there. Keep 'em flying!
I had the opportunity to get inside this plane when I was a kid. I was at an airshow in Shafter, CA with my grandfather, who served in the navy training bombardiers during ww2. The B-25 was his favorite plane. I wish I would have been able to go up with him. We did build a model of this plane together. He passed when I was a teenager.
45 combat missions, it's men like your father is why we have our freedom today. You can see this B-25 in person, it is owned and operated by American Aeronautical Foundation and the B-25 is at the Camarillo Airport, they have a website calender and if you call they will let you know when it's flying so you can check it out or you can also fly in it like I did and it always fly every year at the Camarillo Airshow in August. American Aeronautical Foundations Website is www.aafgroup.org/
I met a man in Thousand Oaks, CA a few years ago who was in a squadron that flew out of RAF Bungay, near Flixton, UK, he was amazing to talk to and said he was the last of his crew who flew these Mitchell's out of there!...Utter Respect for those fearless flyers! 👏🏻🌟
Great video. Hard to believe men would go out in every theatre of war in this plane to face the hours of flying to and from the target then face the brief terror of bombing /strafing to get home in such a cramped and noisy bird. My hat is off to those great and brave men.
or even better, under jimmy doolittles command, take off with a bomb bay full enroute to japan. a beautiful aircraft piloted by brave men, ( and maintained by brave me too. ) GOD bless them all
Awesome post ! Lucky buggers hahahaha I would have been the biggest kid on there.. My Father flew 1 during WW2 in N. Africa and Italy. still have his log book , be it falling apart some what. And a much appreciative to all involved in the restoration of this aircraft. The inflight tour was fantastic ! Thanks to all .
Thanks so much John for your very nice comment, Yes I was one luck guy to get a flight in such an historic aircraft. That's one brave Man your Father In Law and really nice that you have his log book. Thank you for watching and take care :)
Hi John, My Granddaddy worked at Turner Air Field during WWII. He put the additional fuel tanks on the B-25, so they could be flown to South America and then to Africa. KInda makes me wonder if your Dad might have flown one that my Granddaddy worked on.
WOW ,thats one heck of a ride . The B-25 moves right along in cruise .Its easy to fly I think ,as well .Lands like a baby carridge and at a sort of low speed.
I love the B-25j, especcially this model. What makes it even more cooler is that the interior is messy in an awesome kind of way. like a space station.
Enjoyed the video. I live in mid town Ventura and always step outside and try to get a pic when she flies over. She has a distinct rumble I can hear coming a mile away!
+Chuck Berry Yup, She's a real beauty, thanks so much for watching. Maybe you have already? but if not you should get a flight on it, it's a memory that you will never forget.
+Ed Whisenant How would I go about riding on that plane my dad flew this type B24 and B25 Mitchell during WWII from 1942-1944 or 1945? I believe would love to get more info on this amazing plane
I am so sorry Mimi, for some reason I don't receive all of my comments and I just happened to look on this page, it's an on going issue with TH-cam so I just now saw your comment. You can go on this website that I listed below about the company who owns this B-25 out at Camarillo Airport in California and it will have Ride info and a number to call. American Aeronautical Foundations Website www.aafgroup.org/ If you are in a different area or state etc. let me know & I can point you in a different area. Take care.
Thanks for sharing, Ed. I'm going this weekend with the only Dutch (and if I'm not mistaken the only European) B25 that is still airworthy. I found this video because I want to prepare myself and it doesn't get any better than your beautiful footage :-) Great work and I might steal your idea of the gopro on a headstrap!
Thank you for watching and for your very nice comments, that is really cool that you are possibly going on the only airworthy B-25 over in your country that will be a great honor to fly in the good ole Mitchell. Have a great time and I will be looking for your GoPro footage :)
Man this is a very very cool video. I'm in the process of building a scale model of this plane, it's cool to see the inside and everything. Thanks for the vid sir
@@EdWhisenantAviation PS FiFi also in Van Nuys to get painted for "The Right Stuff" filming. I was appalled at her condition and the biggest Wolf spider I've ever seen dropped from the bomb bay while I was under her talking to one of the Colonels. Challenge also had their A-26B there. Greenamyer had his Bearcat there. And in 77 there was a B-25J parked there that you could have bought for 7K.
Their is this place called MAPS air museum its in ohio. for $450 you can fly in a B-52 B-24 B-25. And for $2300 you can pilot a P-51 your self. for the bombers ofcourse its $450 each. But wow you are lucky. And anytime thank yo for posting and replying
Two questions, Ed: -Were the engines as uneven and clattery as they sound on the vid? I've always thought radials were smoother than, say Merlins or Packards. -Was the upper gunner's station removed in this plane? It didn't look like there was anywhere for him to sit.
Yes the B-25 Engines sound pretty rough and have pretty short exhaust stack. and yes the gunners station is removed for ease of passengers to enjoy moving around the aircraft. Thanks so much for watching.
Thank you so much for watching. If you can climb a ladder then you can get up into the B-25. As far as doing a show in Georgia or Florida you would have to contact the American Aeronautical Foundation: Website is listed below. www.aafgroup.org/
I'm very grateful that I've flown in so many great aircraft, and this is one of them. A Huge Thanks goes out to all who I've flown with over the years. Thank you for watching.
Hi Ed, I totally forgot to post the footage. Here it is, including English subs (click in the lower right corner). There were more camera's than only my own gopro (which I had on a wrist strap instead of a head strap). Cool detail, we had wired the intercom to one of the gopro's to pick up the sound. I filmed most of the footage with a DSLR during a two day trip to an air show. In this particular B25 there's storage and electronics in the middle section so we couldn't crawl all the way through the plane like you. So I arranged one trip in the back and another in the front to have complete coverage. The result is a well received mini documentary about the volunteers who keep this beauty airworthy. Thanks again for your film, it really helped me in the preparation of this project! th-cam.com/video/kC1SfMD6ZfI/w-d-xo.html
I watched your video and am so glad that you wrote me again so I could watch it. I posted a comment and of course a thumbs up. Take care and keep flying.
Nice video but there is another B-25 that also can fly and that is the 'HEAVENLY BODY part of the 390th Bombardment Squadron 42nd Bombardment group JUNGLE AIR FORCE. I like that BOMBER better it has a HISTORY in the South Pacific.
Yes I'm aware of that B-25 used to be at Van Nuys Airport for years my friend flew in it back in the day. What airport is it kept at now? someone told me it's with the Erickson Aircraft Collection Madras, OR.
This is cool and as a non-American person i'd like to try this at least once in my lifetime, but i can't help but think that if they included airsoft turrets and maybe a target in some far away place where none could get hurt, they wouldn't know where to sit all the people from all ages who would gladly pay 500+ dollars to have such an experience, flying in a b-25 with actual airsoft turrets attacking actual targets, with the rear one, the side ones and the cupola one...
I had the privilege of flying in a B-25 in Jan-Feb 1957 from Mountain Home AFB, ID, to Reno, NV. I was hopping from DC to CA. We tried to get to Travis AFB, CA, but the plane had no supercharged engines and no radar, and we couldn’t get over the mountains. So we diverted to Reno. I lucked out and caught a NV Air Natl Guard C-45 from Reno to Travis. What a day!!!
WOW! John your right that was a day, pretty cool you flew in the B-25 & a C-45, two great aircraft. Thank you for your service & for watching 😎👍
After reading Catch 22, it really brings the book to life to see a video of someone inside the plane the main character was in.
+Taylor .Henry Yes you can get a pretty good idea of what it's like to fly inside one of these Bombers. Thanks for watching.
Thanks man! Great video. My father flew in the nose gunner's seat of a B25 doing submarine patrols on the East Coast for a few months during WWII. He was a Marine flying out of North Carolina until he was deployed to invade Okinawa with the First Marine Division. The only thing he ever spoke of fondly was his time in the Mitchell's nose.
Beautiful view up in the nose, but I'm sure it got very tense also. Thank him for his service for me if he's still around, my Father in law is 92 and served in the Battle of the Bulge and is still around. Thanks so much for watching and sharing his story.
Thanks again for the flight!
Your welcome.
This is the honest truth. I used to work at a publishing company called Challenge Publications. The owner at the time also was the owner of this very aircraft. His name was Ed Schneph. Mind you this was the very late 70's / early 80's. They were actually working on one of the engines in our warehouse where pallets and pallets of magazines were also stored. Some of the titles we published were like "Air Classics', "Warbirds", and various titles along those lines. We also published many titles that dealt with modeling such as scale r/c models, beautiful dioramas and such. I don't remember many of them as like I said this was a while back. Anyways, Ed was quite a character and I'm almost sure he has passed on by now. If I remember correctly, one of the mechanics name was Nelson Knudler or something like that. I also remember a guy named Michael O'Leary who was also involved with the aircraft at the time. If I remember correctly, Ed also owned at least one other plane, I think it was an A-26 Invader. ( probably have the name incorrectly.) Every time I see a picture of this plane it brings back a lot of memories from those times. I never did get a chance to have a ride in that plane.
Magnificent! One of my uncles was navigator on a B-25 in the South Pacific with the "Rough Raiders." He flew all his missions with some harrowing moments, then volunteered for one more---and was killed with all the crew/ground crew when a bomb that was stuck in the bomb bay unnoticed fell out on landing and exploded. His and their story at "Family Veterans of WWII" at Ancientlights dog o-r-g.
+37Dionysos Wow, I'm very sorry about your Uncle what a tragedy. I'm speechless after hearing about that. Your Uncle was a very brave Man for doing what he did and then stepping forward for another mission, you should be very proud of him and I'm sure you are. Thank you for watching and sharing your story. Take care.
Thank you, and best respects back at you for your honor of this great, great ship. I'm not "selling" anything but you might enjoy the details of my uncle's South Pacific service and missions at the aforesaid "Family Veterans" page at Ancient Lights dot o-r-g. My Dad's B-24 crew also detailed there. Keep 'em flying!
Beautiful restoration, great editing and audio. A real tribute to our moms and dads who endured those times. Thanks!
Thanks so much MT for your nice comment. Yes a big thanks to all who sacrificed .
I had the opportunity to get inside this plane when I was a kid. I was at an airshow in Shafter, CA with my grandfather, who served in the navy training bombardiers during ww2. The B-25 was his favorite plane. I wish I would have been able to go up with him. We did build a model of this plane together. He passed when I was a teenager.
Very sorry about your grandfathers passing, I'm glad you new him for awhile and good memories. Thank you for sharing 👍😎
My Dad flew 45 combat missions in the B-25J, 345th BG 500th Squadron... 5th AAF... I live in Santa Clarita and would love to see this B-25J fly.
45 combat missions, it's men like your father is why we have our freedom today.
You can see this B-25 in person, it is owned and operated by American Aeronautical Foundation and the B-25 is at the Camarillo Airport, they have a website calender and if you call they will let you know when it's flying so you can check it out or you can also fly in it like I did and it always fly every year at the Camarillo Airshow in August.
American Aeronautical Foundations Website is www.aafgroup.org/
I met a man in Thousand Oaks, CA a few years ago who was in a squadron that flew out of RAF Bungay, near Flixton, UK, he was amazing to talk to and said he was the last of his crew who flew these Mitchell's out of there!...Utter Respect for those fearless flyers! 👏🏻🌟
Yes you said it perfect Huge Respect. Thank you for watching & for your comment :)
I saw the Executive Sweet at an airshow in Hamilton Ontario Canada in 1984/1985 . It was in June . Thank you .
Your welcome & I'm glad you got to see & thank you for watching :)
Great video. Hard to believe men would go out in every theatre of war in this plane to face the hours of flying to and from the target then face the brief terror of bombing /strafing to get home in such a cramped and noisy bird. My hat is off to those great and brave men.
You said it very well, thank you for your comment.
Those crews had guts by the bucket full, we owe them so much, true heroes. Thanks for this great video.
or even better, under jimmy doolittles command, take off with a bomb bay full enroute to japan. a beautiful aircraft piloted by brave men, ( and maintained by brave me too. ) GOD bless them all
Awesome post ! Lucky buggers hahahaha I would have been the biggest kid on there.. My Father flew 1 during WW2 in N. Africa and Italy. still have his log book , be it falling apart some what. And a much appreciative to all involved in the restoration of this aircraft. The inflight tour was fantastic ! Thanks to all .
Thanks so much John for your very nice comment, Yes I was one luck guy to get a flight in such an historic aircraft. That's one brave Man your Father In Law and really nice that you have his log book. Thank you for watching and take care :)
Well not sure about the Father in law.. , was my Father.. no problem though.
Hi John, My Granddaddy worked at Turner Air Field during WWII. He put the additional fuel tanks on the B-25, so they could be flown to South America and then to Africa. KInda makes me wonder if your Dad might have flown one that my Granddaddy worked on.
WOW ,thats one heck of a ride . The B-25 moves right along in cruise .Its easy to fly I think ,as well .Lands like a baby carridge and at a sort of low speed.
+Ray Hansen Thank you for watching, ya this baby fly's like a WWII fighter, was a great flight, highly recommend it.
Nice video. I have a Top Flite model of this plane and it helps to see some real footage when trying to recreate scale features
Yes I imagine it most definitely could help for sure, have you seen one in person? you could take close up pictures :) Thank you for watching :)
I love the B-25j, especcially this model. What makes it even more cooler is that the interior is messy in an awesome kind of way. like a space station.
Yes the interior is very amazing when you think about the year it was designed, I'm with you, I also love these B-25's. Thank you for watching.
Enjoyed the video. I live in mid town Ventura and always step outside and try to get a pic when she flies over. She has a distinct rumble I can hear coming a mile away!
+Chuck Berry
Yup, She's a real beauty, thanks so much for watching. Maybe you have already? but if not you should get a flight on it, it's a memory that you will never forget.
+Ed Whisenant How would I go about riding on that plane my dad flew this type B24 and B25 Mitchell during WWII from 1942-1944 or 1945? I believe would love to get more info on this amazing plane
I am so sorry Mimi, for some reason I don't receive all of my comments and I just happened to look on this page, it's an on going issue with TH-cam so I just now saw your comment. You can go on this website that I listed below about the company who owns this B-25 out at Camarillo Airport in California and it will have Ride info and a number to call. American Aeronautical Foundations Website www.aafgroup.org/
If you are in a different area or state etc. let me know & I can point you in a different area. Take care.
Thanks, enjoyed the ride along.
Glad you enjoyed and thank you for riding along :)
That was incredible, thank you!
Thank you very much for your comment, it was truly an incredible experience.
Thanks for sharing, Ed. I'm going this weekend with the only Dutch (and if I'm not mistaken the only European) B25 that is still airworthy. I found this video because I want to prepare myself and it doesn't get any better than your beautiful footage :-) Great work and I might steal your idea of the gopro on a headstrap!
Thank you for watching and for your very nice comments, that is really cool that you are possibly going on the only airworthy B-25 over in your country that will be a great honor to fly in the good ole Mitchell.
Have a great time and I will be looking for your GoPro footage :)
Awesome!! thanks for sharing.
Your welcome Karen and thanks so much for watching, I hope you have a great day :)
what a wonderful experience! great flight in a legendary aircraft.
thank for sharing!
Thank You for watching, it was such a great honor to fly on this amazing aircraft.
i bet it was!
Thanks my great grandfather flew in a b-25
Your welcome Ed, your grandfather was a brave Man :)
Man this is a very very cool video. I'm in the process of building a scale model of this plane, it's cool to see the inside and everything. Thanks for the vid sir
+97 cobra Your so welcome and enjoy your model.
Got a ride on her in the 70s when she was based at Van Nuys
Pretty cool experience, so glad you got a flight on her, thank you for watching 👍😎
@@EdWhisenantAviation she's in much better condition here. Back then the greenhouse leaked! Nice to see her properly cared for.
@@EdWhisenantAviation PS FiFi also in Van Nuys to get painted for "The Right Stuff" filming. I was appalled at her condition and the biggest Wolf spider I've ever seen dropped from the bomb bay while I was under her talking to one of the Colonels. Challenge also had their A-26B there. Greenamyer had his Bearcat there. And in 77 there was a B-25J parked there that you could have bought for 7K.
@@bobkohl6779 Good story thanks for sharing with us 👍😎
great one. I play this warthunder, I love it
Fantastic video.WE WANT MORE.
Thank you for the comment, this was one awesome flight & I would love to go again someday.
Imagine taking off from a carrier with a full payload. Whew.
We can only imagine, thanks for watching.
+71superbee3 Must have been a heart in your throat experience. And then crash-land it somewhere in China.
71superbee3 Imagine how Doolittles men must have felt
i have been in an authentic one they are loud as hell!
Gregg Acuff Iv'e flown in two B-25's & you are right they are very load. Thanks for watching.
Their is this place called MAPS air museum its in ohio. for $450 you can fly in a B-52 B-24 B-25. And for $2300 you can pilot a P-51 your self. for the bombers ofcourse its $450 each. But wow you are lucky. And anytime thank yo for posting and replying
Gregg Acuff Thanks so much for the info, sounds like The Collings Foundation & for your nice comment.
Your welcome :)
more please
Thank you for watching, that was my 2nd time flying in a B-25 & I would like to go again.
Two questions, Ed:
-Were the engines as uneven and clattery as they sound on the vid? I've always thought radials were smoother than, say Merlins or Packards.
-Was the upper gunner's station removed in this plane? It didn't look like there was anywhere for him to sit.
Yes the B-25 Engines sound pretty rough and have pretty short exhaust stack. and yes the gunners station is removed for ease of passengers to enjoy moving around the aircraft. Thanks so much for watching.
Wow! Amazing! Too many small spaces for me though :p
Glad you liked it, thank you for watching.
Is it easy too get into and out of the B-25 J. You ever do show in Ga. Or Florida?
Thank you so much for watching. If you can climb a ladder then you can get up into the B-25. As far as doing a show in Georgia or Florida you would have to contact the American Aeronautical Foundation: Website is listed below.
www.aafgroup.org/
even looks like a warthunder map lol
Thanks for watching
Thanks for watching :)
Show me the Dorsal gunner position!
Thanks for watching Tom 😎
I tip my hat to you sir, my god, never been so jealous in my life.. :)
I'm very grateful that I've flown in so many great aircraft, and this is one of them.
A Huge Thanks goes out to all who I've flown with over the years.
Thank you for watching.
Cool Video
B 25 Mitchell Machine Guns
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching.
That's awesome.
Thank you for watching 👍
@@EdWhisenantAviation that was more then a pleasure. Thank you for recording it. I greatly appreciated every second of it.
@@chulachaser5321 Your very welcome & again thank you 👍
does that thing take it out at 16 seconds because it ain't got no reverse thrust?
Yup they can push or pull it were ever they want - Thanks for watching.
Hi Ed, I totally forgot to post the footage. Here it is, including English subs (click in the lower right corner).
There were more camera's than only my own gopro (which I had on a wrist strap instead of a head strap). Cool detail, we had wired the intercom to one of the gopro's to pick up the sound. I filmed most of the footage with a DSLR during a two day trip to an air show. In this particular B25 there's storage and electronics in the middle section so we couldn't crawl all the way through the plane like you. So I arranged one trip in the back and another in the front to have complete coverage. The result is a well received mini documentary about the volunteers who keep this beauty airworthy.
Thanks again for your film, it really helped me in the preparation of this project!
th-cam.com/video/kC1SfMD6ZfI/w-d-xo.html
I watched your video and am so glad that you wrote me again so I could watch it. I posted a comment and of course a thumbs up. Take care and keep flying.
Great footage of marvelous B-25 trip.
Paul Calis Thank you for your nice comment.
сколько может стоить такой самолет??
Can you imagine day after day combat action
It is very hard to imagine how it would have been, very intense & very exhausting. Thank you for watching & for your comment.
Nice video but there is another B-25 that also can fly and that is the 'HEAVENLY BODY part of the 390th Bombardment Squadron 42nd Bombardment group JUNGLE AIR FORCE. I like that BOMBER better it has a HISTORY in the South Pacific.
Yes I'm aware of that B-25 used to be at Van Nuys Airport for years my friend flew in it back in the day. What airport is it kept at now? someone told me it's with the Erickson Aircraft Collection Madras, OR.
I've been in b17
Nelson Lynch Cool! you stepped back into history, I love the B-17. Thank you for watching.
awesome
Thank you for watching :)
you're welcome
This is cool and as a non-American person i'd like to try this at least once in my lifetime, but i can't help but think that if they included airsoft turrets and maybe a target in some far away place where none could get hurt, they wouldn't know where to sit all the people from all ages who would gladly pay 500+ dollars to have such an experience, flying in a b-25 with actual airsoft turrets attacking actual targets, with the rear one, the side ones and the cupola one...
I would fly in the Sweet
there a lot of kids in that plane.
If I remember correctly, I think two kids. Thank you for watching.
The aircrews that flew those in WW2 weren't that much older really.
Great video. Really stupid move for the low flyby over the water.
+s stan Glad you liked my video & thank you for watching.
It was fantastic, like a mill pond! 😎